When Grim Forgot to Take One of the Dead Souls
by Salubrious
Summary: Jack decided to keep on running. Ennis decided he just keep it all to himself. New chaps.
1. Chapter 1

This came to me when I was listening to this song. The song's lyrics are like_ this. _Ennis' thoughts are like **_this._**

I want to thank mobody because according to mobody, lorry is also called Semi's. So, just an early notice before you read.

Forgive me for any factual mistakes cos I've never watched the movie. The reason why I wrote this is because I'm a sucker for good-looking guys.

Disclaimer: Not mine.

Ennis was sitting in the diner, practically pushing his food around on the plate despite the fact that he was hungry. Years passed after Jack died and he still hasn't gotten over the ordeal.

"Fucking rain…" Ennis mumbled as he watched rain splattered on the windows. It was raining, it was cold and the diner's song wasn't helping to lift his mood up.

_I feel like a song without the words_

_A man without a soul_

_A bird without its wings_

_A heart without a home_

_I feel like a knight without a sword _

_The sky without the sun_

_Cos you are the one_

"That's right. Stupid fucking song." He hated the song. The tune was so sad and sober that he felt like breaking down and cries at the spot.

_**Why'd ya do this to me, Jack?**_

_**Leavin' me behind?**_

_I feel like a ship beneath the waves_

_A child that lost his way_

_A door without a key_

_A face without a name_

_I feel like a breath without the air_

_And every day's the same_

_Since you've gone away_

_**Ya jus' fuckin' die like some ol' piece of shit and left me behind. That ain't fair. Ya left me no purpose to live, Jack… No purpose…**_

_I gotta have a reason to wake up in the morning_

_Used to be the one that put a smile on my face_

_There are these words that could describe how I miss you_

_And I miss you_

_Every day_

At hearing those words, Ennis felt tears welling up in his eyes

_**Fuckin' mess, ya leave me, Jack…**_

Ennis bit his lip… He couldn't stand it. He couldn't stand to live alone every day and missing Jack every waking and sleeping moments. It was just too much. He didn't know who to blame. Jack, for leaving him, or himself, for not accepting Jack.

Ennis looked outside through the window. The parking lot was there and only a few trucks occupied some space. And there was a road to exit the place and at the other side of the road stood Jack.

Ennis slowly lifted his head. **_It couldn't be him… could it?_**

There was Jack, standing in the rain. There was a sign of happiness surrounding Jack, he just stood there in the rain and seemed to be waving a 'hello' at Ennis.

_And I'll never gonna leave your side_

_And I'll never gonna leave your side_

_I guess_

_Still holding longer_

_I'm not gonna let you go_

_Cos when I'm lying in your arms_

_I know I'm home_

Jack held up a 'thumb's up' and turned around, leaving Ennis watching him leave into the darkness.

Ennis silently panicked. But he didn't show it. He rested his head on his folded arms on the table. **_I'm goin' nuts. Imaginin' Jack fer missin' him so much…_**

He couldn't stand the song and Jack's fading shadows so he paid for his food and stormed outside. Everyone inside the diner watched Ennis who dashed through the rain and found haven in his truck.

_**Fucking song… fuckin' imagination…**_

He started the car. Silent

_**Stupid piece of shit!**_

Ennis slammed his fists on the steering and the truck came alive with a desperate cough.

"What the…?"

Ennis was perplexed. He let the slow hum of the truck's engine seeps through his mind to make sure that he wasn't dreaming. He looked around and his eyes stopped at the spot where he just saw Jack waved at him. **_He looked so real…_** He looked back at the steering trying to grasp reality. The truck is alive so he backed out of the parking lot and drove away into the long narrow road ahead of him.

Ennis had been taking long rides with his truck, just to get his mind off Jack. His grueling works in the morning distract him perfectly well from Jack except at night when it was so quiet.

The night rang with the sounds of the rains and the truck. His truck's radio is broken but he hadn't really bothered to fix it. What came next bothered him the most.

_Tell me that a man can lose his mind_

_Living in the pain_

_Calling times gone by_

_Crying in the rain_

_You know I've wasted half the time_

_And I'm on my knees again_

_Till you come to me_

The song came from Ennis' broken radio. More surprised than ever in his life, Ennis almost skidded off the road but he regained his control again. He looked to his right to check the radio but what he saw next almost gave him a heart attack.

"J…Jack?"

_I gotta have a reason to wake up in the morning_

_Used to be the one that put a smile on my face_

_There are these words that could describe how I miss you_

_And I miss you_

_Every day_

_And I'll never gonna leave your side_

_And I'll never gonna leave your side_

_I guess_

_Still holding longer_

_I'm not gonna let you go_

_Lay my head against you heart_

_I know I'm home_

Jack was sitting next to Ennis on the passenger's seat. His body emanating a weird glow in the darkness, Jack smiled his usual big grin.

"Hey, Ennis. Missin' me?" he said with a whisper.

"Jack…" words were stuck in his throat. Here he was… his one true darling… right next to him when he thought he had died years ago.

"Jack…I thought yer…d…de…"

Jack put a finger on Ennis lips. "Not a word, cowboy. We'll talk later,"

How can he shut up when there was a dead man beside him?

"Jack, that was ya wavin' at me?"

"Yup. Thought I'd better introduce maself before I pop up beside ya in this truck,"

Ennis was silent. He loved the way Jack was smiling at him right now. Loved the way his face was relaxed in the darkness. Ennis held out a hand to touch Jack, at least to confirm that he wasn't going insane.

_And I'll never gonna leave your side_

_And I'll never gonna leave your side_

_I guess_

_Still holding longer_

_I'm not gonna let you go_

_Cos when I'm lying in your arms_

_I know I'm home_

Jack's hands were cold and at the same time, Jack whispered "Gotta go, cowboy. I'll be waiting fer ya."

Jack disappeared and so are Ennis' hopes. Suddenly, bright lights blinded Ennis. His truck was on the wrong lane and about to meet a lorry.

He didn't realize when this happened but Ennis felt that impact, slowly spreading from his face, to his neck and to his back.

He lost his grip and saw swirling images around him. For a moment, Ennis saw stars and the rest was darkness. The last thing he saw was the blinding lights in front of him. He heard the horrible crush of his truck under the lorry's tires and silent… And a single tear down his cheek mixed with the rain…

Ennis felt cold but he wasn't alone in the darkness. A hand reached for him, slowly lifting him up. "Told 'ya we'll have time to talk,"

"Funny. The truck was crushed but the body's fine," said a sheriff.

"But he's confirmed dead, sir. Got no pulse. But, sir. Ya gotta see this," replied another

"Wow… would'ja look at that,"

"He died happy, sir,"

"Indeed. He's smiling like a little child,"

-end-

Right…didn't mean to kill Ennis. But the story just flowed out of me like that.

If you don't mind, can somebody tell me who sang this song? I have no idea what the title of this song is or who sings it. Please… you'll do me a great favor… he, he


	2. Chapter 2

Okay, I've been waiting for some free time to write this so it's here! Hah, take that, diagnostic test! (Muahahahaha!) Em… okay…on with the story.

Warning: Readers may (or will) lose the romantic feelings BBM has inflicted upon its viewers because this isn't a romantic fic.

Ennis thoughts are like _this._ Everything else is normal.

Starts a few seconds before Ennis died in the first chap. A take on what if Ennis didn't die in the accident.

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Ennis' truck swerved off the road, twirled and crashed into the darkness, taking Ennis with it.

The truck lay on its side; luckily it did not explode, only a few awful dents here and there and Ennis was trying to crawl out of the pile of mess.

"Fuck… fuckin' shit!" Ennis cursed as he staggered to stand. Ennis huffed and puffed, his feelings mixed with relief, anger, surprise and worry. He sighed as he rested his hands on his knees. Then he straightened up and looked at his (once) truck.

"What the hell just happened…?" Ennis mumbled to himself. Seems like the lorry's driver did not care about what happened to him even though the guy must have seen his truck swerved off the road.

"Fuck, Ennis, yeh drive like a blind 80-yer-ol' woman!"

Ennis froze and cold overwhelmed him. It was not the cold from the rain…

He turned around slowly and saw the familiar handsome figure stood before him, his body shining like the moonlight in the dark and the rain. His voice sent a chill down Ennis' spine but all that ghostly appearance did not hinder Ennis from doing what he would usually do when Jack does something totally unbelievable.

"JACK FUCKING TWIST!"

"What?"

"What the fuck…!"

"Yeah?"

"Fuck…"

"Fuck?"

"Fuckin'…"

"Cowboy, if ya wanna fuck with me right 'ere, that's fine but it's raining," Jack said with a gesture of showing that it was raining as if Ennis had not acknowledged that earlier.

"No…" Ennis stepped closer to Jack. Jack wore a tired expression but happy nonetheless.

"En, it's been long…" Jack took a step forward. He reached a hand out towards Ennis when a cheap lightning effect struck between them causing Ennis to retreat away from his dead lover.

"Hey! What shit!" Jack cursed at the smoke emitting from the ground where the lightning once struck.

"**_JACK!_**" a deep voice boomed out from the smoke.

Ennis could do nothing but stare at the scene before him.

"**_YOU TOOK YOUR TIME NOW YOU'RE GOING TO…ACK!_**"

Jack punched into the smoke which caused a black figure to stumble out of the smoke and landed on the rough ground. The figure held a bony hand over his fully hooded face to soothe the spot where Jack had punched with his ghostly yet still strong fist.

"We made promise, ya LIL' PIECE A' SHIT!"

"But you were too long!" moaned the black hooded figure.

"A promise 's a promise!"

"That wasn't promise! That was bribery!"

Ennis stood at his place, his eyes wide with disbelief. Here he stood, watching two non-human beings quarrelling with each other. Ennis knew who the hooded man is. He's Grimm.

"Then why did ya accept them, huh?" Jack shouted in anger.

"Cos you're the only one with cigars,"

"Yeh lil… BASTARD!" Jack tried to reach for the bony neck of the Grimm but he evaded with the agility an old guy would not have (Ennis suppose he was old because the guy has bony hands).

The Grimm jogged away to flee but Jack stomped on the tail of his long robes. "Gotcha, ya sissy-wearin', cigar-hogging, bribe-takin' piece of rubbish!"

"Hey, hold it! That's my new robe! And it ain't SISSY!" the Grimm screeched and whipped out his scythe out of nowhere.

"Argh, hey, hey!" Jack backed away, fearing the power of the long blade.

Ennis watched as the Grimm chased Jack around with his scythe. Ennis, who could not stand watching Jack being treated like a wet dog, did what a sensible human would do.

"WAIT A FUCKING, SHITTING MINUTE! WHAT THE HELL'S GOIN' ON!" he shouted over the little confusing commotion.

The Grimm answered "Your little fishing buddy here bribed me to let him stay in this world longer!" and swung his scythe.

Jack ducked and replied back "Who told ya ta take the fucking cig!"

"Cos there ain't any cigarettes in my place!" the Grimm swung again and missed Jack's head by inches.

"This 's unbelievable…" Ennis mumbled to himself. Jack came running towards him and ran through Ennis, causing Ennis to shiver from the ghostly effect.

"Ah, shii-it… wait…WAIT! **WAIT**!" Ennis shouted his lungs out as he saw the shining sharp blade neared his face.

"Ah, oops…" Grimm stopped and rested his scythe by his side. "Rule one; don't kill living things that are not yet expired…" Ennis sighed and felt his heart rate dropped slowly to normal.

Jack looked at the both of them while standing a few feet behind Ennis. Ennis turned around to confront Jack.

"Jack, tell me what the hell's goin' on an' yeh better be 'onest about it."

"I died, En. I can't go without taking a piece of something with me,"

"Yeh want the shirt?"

"No, I want ya…"

A stony silence fell between them. Ennis could feel bile coming up his throat but he forced it down. "Yeh…wanna…take me with ya?"

Jack's eyes blackened with desire yet he hid them away. "No…I want those…words…"

"Words?"

"Yeah, words…"

"Word…" the Grimm said from behind like a cool teenager conversing with another friend.

Jack glared at Grimm but looked back at Ennis.

"Grimm, how long is our promise?" he said without looking away from Ennis.

"Umm…one cig means one month…You only gave me two so…" Grimm counted silently.

"You have approximately 7 minutes left to settle your business here before I drag you away." Grimm said holding up his bony index finger.

"Yeh been here for more than a month?" Ennis said with surprise.

"Yeah… I… wanted yeh…I wanted ta hear those words…"

"What words, Jack?"

"Fuck it, En! Those… Those WORDS! Those WORDS! That's why I had been hidin' in the shadows!"

"Shadows…? So yer the one who made those bunny ears on mah shadow's head when I was showerin'!"

"Sure was funny…" Jack whispered to himself but loud enough to be audible for others.

"3 minutes…" Grimm said playfully.

"Ah, fuck!" Jack said in frustration. Even in the darkness Ennis could see the tears that were starting to well up in Jack's eyes. Jack was pleading.

"En, please, En! Just this once, say it! What's stoppin' yeh!"

He didn't answer. Ennis could feel his heart fighting with his brain. _What's stopping ya? C'mon, say it… But he's guy, what to do… Ya love him, don'cha? Ya love the man, admit it and this is yer second chance. Yeh blew him off once, don't break his heart twice, Ennis Del Mar! Say 'em. Say those three simple words. No one's stoppin' ya. No one's there ta kill ya… Say em… No one's there ta kill Jack…_

Ennis looked at Jack who had his head down, looking at the ground

"1 minute…"

"Jack, I…"

"57 seconds…"

Ennis bit his lower lip.

"Jack I lo… lov…"

Jack lifted his head and looked deep into Ennis' eyes. Ennis felt like crumbling under those eyes.

"J…Jack, I…"

Tears welled up in Ennis' eyes, blurring Jack from his vision

_Oh, no…shit…yer losin' him again. No, fuckin' shit… No…_

Ennis mumbled a silent word. Drops of cold rain dripped on his face.

"What…Ennis… What are ya…" the next word was drowned by the thunder in the air. Lights came from behind Jack who turned around and knew what was coming next.

He was about to leave Ennis forever… again… and there was nothing he could do.

Ennis' jaw fell. He was about to lose Jack again… and this time he gave Jack a second heart break… _No shit… _

"Time's up," Grimm said under the hood, his voice penetrated through Ennis' silent head.

_Time's up… time's up… _Ennis watched as Jack walked into the unknown light, his body low and sulky, Jack's tears mixed with the pouring rain. He turned around for the last time and looked at Ennis. His eyes were as dead as Ennis' little ray of light inside him but Jack smiled. Jack smiled a sad smile and waved at Ennis. "Thanks fer everythin' ya gave me, En…"

Ennis stood in the rain and watched Grimm gently patting Jack on the back as a sign it was time to go.

Ennis could not stand it.

"WAIT, JACK! I LOVE YA! I LOVE YA, JACK FUCKIN' TWIST!"

-to be continued-

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Hope you enjoyed it and thanks for reading my fic and also thank you for the reviews on the previous chap. Forgive me for any factual or grammatical mistakes.

b


	3. Chapter 3

This is getting quite ridiculous… Ah... here's the continuation of the story. As usual, Ennis' _thoughts. _I put a little surprise inside. Really small one.

Warning: Totally ridiculous plot.

Disclaimer: Not mine…

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Jack stood there, Ennis' words echoed through the rain.

"Excuse me?" the Grimm said and Ennis could imagine one of Grimm's eyebrows rising up under the hood.

"Jack, I…"  
"Ennis…"

The two men looked at each other as Grimm watched the tableau like scene. "What's…going…on…?" Grimm said in almost a whisper as if disturbing the two men's gaze is a total felony.

Ennis was cold but he felt warm inside. The warmth he had lost before but not this time. Not again. He flexed his fingers and clenched them into a ball. Happiness is not easy to achieve but damn, it sure feels good…

"I LOVE YOU, JACK! I'm so…" _damn, here it comes_ "S…SORRY! I was scared , I was…" _git them out! Git these fucking words out, now! _

Ennis clamped his mouth shut again. He realized what he just said. He just claimed his love with another man, in the open, with the rain and the… the Grimm as a witness. There was that one second when he felt so free, to be able to say those words without fear and paranoid glances over his shoulder. He loved that moment. And he loved it better when he saw the cheerful grin crept on Jack's pale face again.

"Knew yer a man, En!" Jack said cheerfully.

Grimm stood there perplexed but he grabbed Jack by the collar. "No more dilly dallies, you're going now!" he tugged hard at Jack but Jack fought back. He tried to elbow Grimm on the stomach but failed. Ennis took a fast pace to save Jack but Grimm had already escaped into the light with Jack in tow.

"JACK!" Ennis shouted. He reached his hand out to reach the light but to no avail. The light was gone. Poof. "Hey, son of A BITCH! LET GO OF JACK!" Ennis shouted into the empty darkness.

Nothing. No answer. Ennis stood there. Jack's sudden departure was a pang of his life. Like the 'deceased' postcard he received long ago.

"Jack…" Ennis covered his face with his callous hands. He let his hands slowly slide from his face to his chin and let them rest at his side. Ennis was empty; in fact, he was so empty he did not realize what it meant. He only knew that that empty space was supposed to be occupied by Jack. Only Jack and the memories…

Ennis could feel a monster rising inside him, angrily tearing him apart, desperate to self-destruct for being so stupid and such a coward at the same time. _Jack wouldn't have died if ya weren't such a pussy…!_

Ennis grunted and knelt on the muddy ground. He punched the earth once, twice, the third tore through his fist's skin and the fourth made it bled. "FUCK!" Ennis shouted at the ground. He was on all his four, trying to grab onto what was real. Let the pain come, he did not care. His heart was wounded much worse than his hands and all because of his own fault.

"Jack…" Ennis' grunts turned into sobs. "Why…?" he was so sick of every blunder he had ever made, the rejection, the loss, every thing seemed to happen just to make his life a living hell. He changed his position into sitting. He was not sure why he was sitting on mud in the middle of the rain, but what he was sure of was that he was not sure what to do.

Ennis was busy wiping away his tears when the cheap lightning effect came back and landed six feet away from Ennis' left. There was thunder and the light came back. Ennis stood; maybe this was his chance to chase after Jack while the light thing was back again. Ennis was about to step closer to the light when a familiar voice rang through the air.

"Jack?"

Jack stepped out of the light followed by Grimm.

"What the hell are yeh doin' back here?"

"Em…er…" Jack was smiling sheepishly but Grimm answered his question.

"Wrong portal." Grimm snapped his fingers and the light was poofed away.

"Whaddya mean, wrong portal?" Ennis said in a demanding way. His head was still fuzzy from what happened just now. "What I mean…" Grimm plucked out a piece of glass stuck at his backside "is that that portal wasn't going where dead people go,"

"So, where did ya go?"

Grimm glanced at Jack who looked back at him. Then Jack answered, "a brothel,"

"A brothel?"

"Yeah, one a' the ladies were… well, doin' sumthin' with this other guy when we got poofed inside,"

Ennis was obviously surprised. He looked at the piece of glass in Grimm's hand which was plucked off his backside earlier. He gave a puzzled look.

"And, the nice lady threw us with bottles of wine, scotch and other alcohol stuff," Jack said to help solve the puzzle inside Ennis' head.

"Melissa's alcoholic," Grimm said casually.

Jack and Ennis stared at Grimm.

"What? So? I made a few acquaintances and friends here and there." Grimm replied defensively. He knew what was going through both the men's heads.

"Hey, Grimm…" Jack said slowly.

"YYYYEEEEESSSSSS?"

"Can ya let me live again?" Jack's request was straightforward.

"EK! Why would I wanna do that!" Grimm said as if Jack was telling Grimm to kill himself by stabbing.

"Fer the sake of…" Jack looked around at Ennis who shrugged his shoulders as response. "Ya know… jest fer the sake of it,"

"Oh… you're telling me to revive you again for the sake of nothing," Grimm said in an accusing tone. "Yep…em… maybe… geez! Can'tya jest lemme live again! What's so hard? It's not like ya hafta… ta…" Jack stammered at the sentence, "ta kill sumbody or sumthin'!" Jack gestured his hands around. He was desperate in Grimm's eyes.

"Alright, I'll do it."

Ennis and Jack looked at Grimm, dumb-founded. Could it be this easy?

"For a price," Nope. Nothing is free…

"If you have anymore cigarettes," Grimm rubbed his index finger and thumb together as if to say 'No cigarettes, no talk.' "I'll try my best to…ah…what's the word…"

"Fine!" Ennis replied. He jammed his pack of cigarettes into Grimm's hands and looked at Grimm angrily. He wanted Grimm to be quick and revive Jack.

"Jack's life worth only this much?" Grimm said and looked at the particular pack of nicotine glumly. Jack and Ennis stayed silent. That sentence struck them harder than Grimm expected. Realizing this, Grimm stuffed the pack into his pocket. "Just kidding. Don't take it so hard."

Jack and Ennis felt like killing the guy. Right now if they could.

"Right… Let me reincarnate you again as Twister," Grimm said and cracked his hands.

"Wa… Wait, what? Who? Who's 'at?" Jack said with surprise.

"A… y'know, that horse Ennis owned…" Grimm tried to finish the sentence but Ennis cut him short "Waitaminute, I don't have no fuckin' horse. I sold 'em last year." Silence relapsed between them. Ennis and Jack were in a defensive position as Grimm seemed to be trying to break his promise.

"I'm talking about Ennis from another dimension, 'Love Borned from Steel,' it's a story about…" Grimm stopped in the middle of his sentence as he noticed the perplexed plus surprise looks on Ennis and Jack.

_Right, we're dealin' with a lunatic…_

Grimm paused and examined the looks on the two men. Silent laughs escaped his mouth first, then followed by a fit of giggles and ended with Grimm laughing uncontrollably until he collapsed onto the ground. That was the last straw for Ennis and Jack.

"He, he, he…HA HA HA! DAMN! You guys look so FUNNY! HA HA HA! Hey, Jack, what are you, he he, doing… **ACK**!

Jack grabbed hold on Grimm's neck who was wheezing and swearing at Jack at the same time. The two rolled in the mud and when Grimm successfully topped Jack, he whipped out his mighty and famous scythe. "En! Grab the thing! The THING! ARGH!" Jack shouted like his life depended on it. Grimm swung the sharp blade at Jack's face as the target but Jack craned his neck to the side which luckily made the blade missed him.

Among all that commotion, Ennis finally obtained the weapon and conquered the situation. Still strong despite his aging body, he lifted the heavy scythe and pointed it at Grimm, his face strained with anger and hatred towards the being topping his lover. "Let go of Jack," Ennis made the command as clear as crystal. Grimm admitted defeat. He let go of the dark-haired man and stood a few feet away to ensure his own safety.

"Alright, Ennis…give me the scythe…" Grimm said using the most gentle voice he could manage.

"Not until ya do what yer promised," Ennis said while he watched Jack straightened himself up.

Grimm sighed and shook his head. "I hate humans, so stubborn..." he muttered to himself.

"Whaddyasay?" Ennis spat. Jack rested his hand on Ennis' arms to cool him down. He did not need to really touch Ennis to say what he wants to say. The both of them had understood each other quite well enough.

"I have a better idea. What if I was nev'r dead?" Jack suggested.

"Then you will need to prepare a lot of cigarettes for me," Grimm said playfully.

Jack grinned and he looked at Ennis. Ennis was still confused with Jack's devious plans.

-to be continued-

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That turned out quite… weird. Took me a week to write this. I hope you enjoyed the plot which is a little bit contradictory to the story. Ho ho! And… to MaineWriter, no hard feelings? I borrowed a tiny itsy bitsy bit of your fic in my story, that's ok right? Right? Right? Please don't sue me!


	4. The Slowest Time

Continuation of the story. This time we will rewind WAY back to one of those last camping trips in Brokeback. I don't know when is that so don't mind about it. Jack and Ennis are still alive in this story at this time so no ghosts but there will be Grimm, oh yes… Jack's **_thoughts_**.

Warning: Not much warning, I suppose only ridiculous plot again. Oh,yeah.. bit romance, not much cos I suck at romance.

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The Slowest Time…

The river was splashing brilliantly in front of them as if it was made to entertain the two lovers till no end.

Jack and Ennis were sitting side by side, not too close, not too far either. They decided to have a little picnic beside the river but this time Ennis was kind of quiet that Jack wondered what was going through his mind.

"En, ya okay?" Jack asked with concern. There was no respond from Ennis until five minutes passed between them. "Hm? Nah, ain't much ta worry about. No need fer concern," Ennis continued his silent staring at the river again as Jack took a bite from his sandwich.

Birds chirping…

Squirrels running around…

Jack burped…

Ennis chuckled…

Jack punched him lightly on the shoulder…

Ennis only smiled…

That was the slowest six minutes in Jack's life. They must have broken the record of having the slowest time in their lives because not much were shared or said since they started the picnic. Ennis doesn't look as energetic as last night either. Jack yawned as loud and big-mouthed as he could. Then he shut his mouth and looked at the grass around him. He was trying a new fact where yawn is said to be contagious.

Five minutes later, Ennis stretched his arms out and yawned.

He cannot believe that it worked!

Came the moment when Ennis had some space beside him because his arms were stretched out that Jack slipped in on Ennis' right side. Ennis realized this and stopped yawning. He rested his arm on Jack's shoulder. Looks like Jack succeeded to make Ennis yawn and give some space for Jack to lean beside him. They stayed like that for a couple of minutes.

Birds chirped peacefully.

"How long d'ya think this would last?" Jack broke the silence and looked at Ennis.

Ennis did not answer. Jack did not react to the silence.

"Don't know…"

Jack did not answer to that. They stayed like that for some time. "Ya know this can't go on long, En…"

Silence…

"Sorry, Jack, I don't know…"

"Ennis, tell me somethin' that I don't know…" Jack straightened up and looked at Ennis. Ennis let go of Jack and leaned his back on a tree, sighed and pushed his hat low to hide his eyes.

"I don't know, Jack…"

"I heard that crap lotsa time, Ennis…"

"Jack fuckin' Twist…"

"Yeah, I know that shit too…"

"Ennis Del Mar's hungry…"

"That's kinda rare…"

"Ya think?"

"Yeah… what kind of hungry ya have now?"

The two only stared into each other's eyes, each saying hungry for each other. "Hungry fer some fresh air…"Ennis stood up and swept dried leaves away from his worn-out jean.

Jack did not expect that but he did not object to the decision.

_**What the hell's up with En today? **_

Ennis kissed Jack a goodbye and Jack did not go easy on Ennis. He was kind of angry that Ennis was giving him silent treatment that day so he bit Ennis along the way of the kiss.

"Shit! Jack, don't eat me alive, I ain't good enough raw!"

"So ya want me to heat ya up that yer hot enough ta fry yaself?" Jack joked with his captive.

"I told ya, I ain't good enough fer ya but ya'll do fer dessert," this time Ennis bit Jack gently.

So the creatures of the forest got a free show that afternoon. Not too much, just the necking here and there.

Jack had a dip in the river after he satisfied his hunger with Ennis. He was alone that time since Ennis went to get more firewood for the night's campfire. Jack dried himself and got dressed. Evening began to crawl up on him so he trekked back to the campsite and along the way he considered the fact if Ennis had got back to the tent earlier than he did.

So, when he arrived at the spot, he realized that the tent's flap was opened. He did not care to look around but dashed at the tent. **_Wow, Ennis is fast today…_**

Jack popped his head inside the tent. It was dark since night began to drop by slowly. Jack did see someone inside the tent but it looked too skinny to be his pal.

"En… that you?"

"No… I mean YES! I'm sleepin', so go away." The voice growled in a manner spectacularly identical to Ennis. Jack was taken aback but he crawled away from the tent and cursed to himself. Then realization dawned on him when he looked at the empty fire pit. **_Wait… if En DID come back… where's the fire!_**

Jack looked back inside the tent and caught the hooded figure red-handed stuffing Jack's pack of cigarettes into his pocket.

"AHA!" Jack shouted accusingly and angrily at the hooded man.

"AHA! HAA!" the bony man stammered and the pack accidentally slipped out of his hand.

"Whaddya think yer doin'!" Jack shouted again with only his upper body inside the tent and his legs sticking outside.

"Yeah, what do you think you're doing!" the hooded man shouted back at Jack.

"I'm asking ya, yeh bastard!"

"Yeah, of course I'm a bastard!"

Jack could feel a vein popping up inside him.

---------------------------------------------------------------

Somewhere far off, Ennis had done his job of woodcutting but he was resting on a stump to clear his mind. His mind wandered off to a part where he wished he could grab Jack and run away to a place where they will live happily ever after. But that was an impossibly childish thought…

Well, he had been considering opening up the ranch just like what Jack mentioned to him but that seemed impossible too…

He took a long drag on his cigarette and had another thought on his mind. When he got back, he's going to give Jack some good loving because Jack must have felt hurt for being ignored today. Yeah… that's a good plan to make up to him, that blue-eyed man. But those eyes will always find a way to get a hold on him. Somehow…

---------------------------------------------------------------

Jack chased Grimm out of the tent like an angry bull.

"Wait! WAIT! HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME!" Grimm yelled angrily at Jack.

"How… HOW! Ya SNEAKED inside our tent and start smugglin' and who-knows-what in there with our stuff! WHO THE HELL ARE YA! Yeh jest skin and bone!" Jack replied incredulously at Grimm, still doubting what his eyes are feeding his mind with. He had the hunting rifle aimed at Grimm's chest.

"I'm Grimm, duh. Can't ya see that? I know a two-year old who can guess faster than you do," he said with a smirk at Jack, criticizing his low level of intelligence and lack of knowledge about him.

"G…G…Grimm? Grimm? GRIMM! Thehellwiththat!" Jack cursed and pulled the trigger. Grimm did not evade but took the impact without flinching. The bullet landed in Grimm's chest, straight into his ribs. No blood oozed out, only the particularly affected bones shred into pieces and turned into dust. Jack gaped with horror at the sight.

"Humans… foolish, stupid, mindless creatures. When I said Grimm, what came into your mind?" he said as he dug his bony hand into his chest and plucked the bullet out without a gasp of pain.

No answer.

Grimm sighed and stepped closer to where Jack was still standing but stunned.

"Hello? Sir? Jack? Hulloooo? Yoohooo? Mister? Rodeo? Mr. Twist? JAAACCCKKK?" Grimm waved his hands in front of Jack, fearing that Jack was killed by a heart attack.

"ARGGGHH!" Jack yelled and instinctively punched Grimm in the face.

As if that was not enough, Jack hit Grimm with the butt of his rifle.

"Woooaaa! Wait! STopp! Jack, darn it, stop, man!" Grimm had swung his hands on his head to dodge the blows but to no avail.

"Die, yeh monster! Die!"

"Hey, dude, like give a guy some mercy, you're gonna die later, anyway! Hey, hey!"

Jack eased his attacks. He stopped in his tracks, his thoughts slowly faded away from his mind as the rifle slowly slipped from his fingers and landed on the ground with a thud. "what…?" he whispered, barely could find where his voice is.

"Hey, dude, like give a guy some mercy, you're gonna die later, anyway. Hey, hey?" Grimm repeated what he said, assuming that Jack wanted to hear what he said just now.

"I'm… gonna…" Jack did not dare to say it.

"Die? Yes."

"What?"

"Are you deaf? I said die, expire, poof, sayonara, bye bye, chow, give up the ghost, flop down and die like this, urgh." And Grimm literally flopped down and pretended that he was dead.

Jack looked into space, blank-faced. Grimm was totally ignored. Grimm thought this was the best way to tell the poor guy without making him more tense than ever but it seemed like he failed. Well, it was good for the first try.

"Jack, I know it's weird but…"

"Why'd you wanna tell me?"

"Huh? Tell…"

"Yeah, tell me about me dyin'. Ain't that a secret?"

"Anh… you wouldn't believe this but…."

An uncomfortable silence

"It started like this. One day, I was looking for a job and the Death Department had a vacancy so I took it. So, I worked with these other Grimm Reapers and this one senior kept bullying me, calling me shorty and lame. Then he'd always say like this, with his chest all puffed up 'Grimm, you are a weak old kid. You're just a baby, considering you're only 43 560 years old. Why did you want to sign up for this job, anyway?' Honestly, he sounded like my grandpa. Oh, yeah, talking about him…"

Jack grabbed Grimm by the collar and slammed him to a tree. "I ain't interested in yer life, sonofabitch…!" Jack paused when he said this. It reminded him of Ennis. He shook the thought of the man away and focused back at Grimm. Grimm took Jack's pause as a threat so he finished his explanation in one breath.

"There-was-this-Jack-in-the-future-who-is-actually-you-except-you're-already-dead-and-you-bribed-me-with-cigars-so-you-could-stay-longer-with-Ennis-despite-the-fact-that-you're-dead-so-one-day-you-met-Ennis-face-to-face-and-he-was-freaking-scared-and-wanted-explanation-so-we-told-him-about-how-you-bribed-me-and-we-fought-cos-I-had-to-get-you-back-and-you-guys-win-so-we-kinda-negotiated-and-you-guys-bribed-me-with-more-cigars-again-and-here-I-am-to-tell-you-about-your-death-so-that-you-guys-could-make-the-best-of-your-last-moments."

Jack gawped at that. "Haaa?" That was his only response.

"You want to hear again? Okay," he inhaled hard and "There-was-this-Jack-in-the-future-who-is-actually-you-except-you're-already-dead-and-you-bribed-me-with-cigars-so,"

"Hu…HUSH! Shut up, yeh piehole! I understand what ya said!" Jack said impatiently and clamped the so-called-piehole's mouth to ensure his silence.

Grimm stayed silent to let the horrible fact seeped into Jack's mind. The both of them were like that for a few minutes until Jack let him go.

"This can't be true…" he combed his fingers through his hair, desperate to make it clear.

"Hey, I'm just…" Grimm pitied the guy but there was nothing he could do.

"Ain't true…" Jack cupped his face with his hands in frustration.

"Jack, are you okay?" Grimm was afraid if Jack had gone crazy.

"THAT'S BULLSHIT!" Jack bellowed at Death (that's referring to Grimm).

Jack grabbed the rifle and aimed at Grimm again. He wanted to shoot the being until he is shred to pieces, his frustration and sadness of leaving Ennis fueled his anger beyond reasons.

"Uh oh…"

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Ennis had begun his walk back to the campsite, lugging the neatly tied firewood with him. He squinted his eyes along the walk as the darkness was blanketing him. The moonlight was his friend right now, the only one that could help him to get back to Jack and his warmth. Ennis stopped in his tracks when he heard the familiar sound of Jack's voice and shots of a rifle. In front of him, in the darkness were Jack and Grimm. Jack was chasing Grimm like a hungry dog, shooting blind at Grimm who was running frantically dodging bullets, thorns, trees and fellow forest creatures.

In this chase scene, Ennis could only see Jack because Grimm was wonderfully camouflaged in the darkness because of his outfit. Grimm was running towards Ennis and he did not notice the cowboy standing a few feet in front of him so he kept running. At the last few seconds, Grimm noticed the man so he halted his pace. Behind him, Grimm felt a stray bullet coming in at him. So, Grimm did what any sensible Grimm Reaper would do, he ducked down to dodge the bullet. This action caused the bullet missed Grimm but hit Ennis instead. Ennis did not have any time to react. He felt the cold tiny bullet pierced through his shirt, his skin and settled into his flesh. The impact caused Ennis to feel numb around the left side of his stomach. His knees buckled as the numbness spread throughout the body.

He groped his wound, trying to ease the pain coming in like a galloping horse, so fast and painful too. Jack realized this. He threw his weapon aside and ran to Ennis' side. He ignored Grimm who was sill taking cover on the rough earth. When Jack kneeled beside Ennis, he realized that Ennis was writhing in pain, his hands soiled with the blood of his wound, the wound he, Jack, caused. "En…En…" Jack could not believe what was happening in front of his eyes.

Ennis coughed blood at the sound of his name being uttered by his loved one. "Jack… Jack…I…"

"Ennis, Ennis!" Jack lowered his face closer to Ennis'; his tears almost escaped his eyes. Ennis could smell Jack, the most pleasant smell he had ever smelt. Jack's shaking hands were trying to stop the bleeding but Ennis was already breathing in short gasps.

Ennis smiled a bloody smile. The next wave of pain was so agonizing that Ennis let a scream of pain escaped his blood-stained lips and he blacked-out. The last thing he heard was Jack yelling his name into the silent, cold forest of Brokeback Mountain.

And that was the slowest most painful time of Jack's life.

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-the end-

Joking, joking. I'm still gonna write. The last part (where Ennis died) was written when I was listening to Numb. Wow, the song was so inspiring that a lot of the word 'numb' appeared in the fic.


	5. Keep Running

Right, new chap! I want to say thank you a lot for all the support and reviews even though this fic's not as great as other fics, he he. Jack's **_thoughts_**. Sorry if there're any mistakes or confusion whatsoever, I wrote this in a rush.

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Twigs crashed under Jack's boots as he dashed through the forest. His chest burned without oxygen and his whole body almost shut down from the lack of air in his body. Jack took two steps faster than usual. He tried to ignore the pain in his legs, he tried to ignore flashing images of Ennis dying, he tried to ignore the heavy guilt in his heart, pounding as fast as his panicked heartbeat now and most of all he tried to ignore the word 'I killed him'…

The sight of their trucks just a few feet from Jack was like a light at the end of a tunnel. But it was a very long tunnel.

---------------------------------------------------------------

It felt as if it was hours ago when he last saw Ennis' face in his hands. Silent yet still warm. His heart was broken to pieces at the sight but he couldn't help and feel that he was the cause for all this. All that Jack could do was cry, yelled his hearts out and shut his eyes to let the blackness wash away the true happening. But, Ennis' face was burned into his eyes and won't go away like a hot sun burning into his closed eyelids, the faded crimson among the dark blue when he does close his eyes from the sun.

And when he opened his eyes, he saw Grimm kneeling beside him and tried to take Ennis away from Jack. One of Ennis' shoulder was now slung across Grimm's own shoulders to be supported.

"Wha…Hey, What are yeh… Yer not taking him away!" Jack got up and tried to retrieve Ennis away from Grimm's grip. "Jack, stop that! We need to get him back to camp!"

"Camp? CAMP! We need to get him to a hospital, not the campsite, Grimm! Get… get yer hands off him!"

"Jack, if Ennis DIED in the hospital because of getting shot, the doctors will blame YOU for his death and you'll be guilty and…,"

"Then I won't care! I won't stay long if Ennis died before me, anyway! I still want him ter go to a hospital, 'sides, yer gonna take him away right now, aren't ya! That's why yer Grimm! That's what yeh do, don't ya!"

"Jack, oh goodness gracious! I won't take him away! He's not supposed to die TODAY! Jack, I don't want him to die as much as you do because my boss gonna kill me for letting someone die when they aren't supposed to! Literally!"

"How the hell are yeh ta die when yer already…!" Jack gestured his hands at Grimm's body, indicating I-don't-have-the-right-word-but-yeh-know-what-I-mean to Grimm

"Jack, I can save this man…"

Jack looked at Grimm. His too-good-to-be-true-words are worth to doubt at this moment, especially when Ennis' life is depending desperately on Jack's hasty decision.

"Jack, I promise you, I won't let Ennis die," Grimm tried to soothe Jack while his hands were still full trying to support Ennis. But at the back of Grimm's head was screaming 'Hurry up! Choose already! This man's dying!'

"What can yeh do that those doctors can't?" Jack said with forced calmness but his hands were shaking from fear, pressure and guilt. All those emotions built up in one body of a man, a man split in a conflict that was obvious to see the answer but logic blurs it all. And this man tried to stand still and held them all back with legs deeply rooted to the ground.

Grimm hesitated to answer but he said "I… had a bit magic left from teleportating from my present dimension to this dimension."

"So?" Jack gestured on for more elaboration. He watched as red drops dropped slowly from Ennis' wound, like a bloody clock ticking away Ennis' life.

"So, if…and I mean IF, one of Ennis' vital organs is damaged, I may put the magic to good use."

"Are yeh sayin' Ennis gotta die…!" Jack couldn't finish his sentence because Grimm cut him short as he feared that Jack may burst into uncontrollable emotional state "I said IF and I meant it. IF he does and the doctors know about it, they can't do anything because mortal human's abilities are quite limited but I can do something with my magic, now if you just run along, go to your truck and get me some gasoline,"

Jack thought Grimm was losing one of his screws or nuts in his brain. "What! Gasoline! What for!"

"We need to stop the bleeding so I need gasoline,"

"Yeh MAD! Gasoline… GASOLINE! Why can't ya use somethin' else! We got aid kit!"

"Jack, Ennis is bleeding like mad and some bandage won't stop that. If it does, it will only hold for a while but I need to close the wound for good,"

"Grimm, do ya have any idea going down there and back again ta the campsite takes 30 minutes? Can't ya poof me there or somethin'?"

Grimm, laden with Ennis, leaned closer to Jack's face. Jack could smell rotten death from the hooded man.

"Jack, Ennis is dying," Grimm whispered slowly as if he was in pain.

Jack knew the reality but 30 minutes seemed to be too long to save Ennis.

"I may not be an expert at medical stuff but I can help you. I can patch him up with my magic if he is greatly wounded but my magic is only enough for that. BUT I can still close the wound and stop excessive bleeding if you get the gasoline. Jack, I won't have any more magic to help Ennis if I have to poof you…"

"Why GASOLINE!" Jack ushered desperately.

"Boy, if you love this man beyond Sunday morning pies, you know you can run for it,"

"Why gasoline, Grimm…?" now Jack asked in a desperate sobbing tone. He was about to break down.

Drops of blood trickled more by the minutes and starting to stain Grimm's robes.

"I gotta do it by the book…"

A drop of tear fell from Jack's eyes and landed on the grassy growth of the Earth where it got mixed with Ennis' small pool of blood. He had no more time to lose…

-----------------------------------------------------------------

The conversation still hovered about Jack's head. **_How could some damn gasoline save a man's life!_** The small case containing the particular important liquid was now in Jack's tight grip

Jack was now sprinting back up the mountain. His chest burned badly. He blamed tobacco for that. The night was dark but the only thought on his mind now is Ennis. Still, Jack also questioned Grimm's authorities when Grimm was supposed to take away lives but what happening now was absolutely the opposite. Jack did not look at his watch but he wished that he was ahead of time. **_And what's this shit about 'do it by the book'! Whatthehell is he, some kinda professor!_**

Jack's long legs stampeded through the forest in full speed and Jack was not going to stop until he reached to Ennis' side.

---------------------------------------------------

Ennis and Grimm were in the tent. Ennis' head was perfectly pillowed with some folded shirts and consciousness began to crawl on Ennis.

Grimm was busy trying to take Ennis' shirt off when Ennis woke in a total dazzled surprise at the sight. He intended to push Grimm away but his movement only resulted to a sudden stabbing pain that shot through Ennis' weak body.

"AH..shi…" he mumbled helplessly. Ennis flopped his head back on the only comfort provided which is the folded shirts and let the pain go away again. Sweats began to break away in trickles but Grimm wiped them. Then Grimm folded his long sleeves, exposing a bony arm. Ennis' breathes are coming in short gasps now.

"What…the…" Ennis' visions were blur from exhaustion and stray sweats. It stings to open his eyes but Grimm's odd actions just prevented Ennis from resting his head back down again. "What…hell.. doin…?" he just could not manage to say his sentence properly. Every breathes, every movement and every words uttered just caused him more pain. Oddly, he could not feel his stomach but just pain around it. When he looked at the source of pain, bitter truth fell on him like a boulder. He just got shot.

Ennis looked back at Grimm. He knew what Grimm was about to do.

"Hello, Ennis. I hope you don't mind. I'm gonna take the bullet out," Grimm said as he flexed his bony, disgusting looking fingers.

"Bullet…?" Ennis replied in disbelief.

"Yep, I'm gonna take it out the old-fashioned way. Do you want something to bite on just in case you screamed and swallow your tongue?"

"Hell… won't… scream…"

There were intense silent as Grimm gently lowered his hand to reach into the wound.

Ennis was not going to express how panicked he was at the idea of a Grimm's hand groping around in his stomach for a bullet but he let it out in a loud puff. The puff was supposed to be a sigh but Ennis did not dare to open his mouth so he clamped it shut and made the sigh sounded like a discontented puff. Grimm took this as fear. He's Death, of course he can sense fear, right?

"Don't worry; my touch is very gentle and loving. More gentle than a blunt knife,"

"If… do find sharp knife… I'm… gonna… stab it up yer a…

-------------------------------------------------------------

Jack's body was crumbling under the pressure. The cold mountain air was not helping with his air supply and the darkness was having a conspiracy with his eyes. They just would not see clearly. Jack cursed his job for that.

Jack suddenly heard the familiar voice echoed throughout the forest in a horrible painful scream. It made a chill ran down Jack's neck and Jack panicked even more. **_Whatthehell is he doin' ta Ennis!_**

Jack caught one long breathe and started his pace again. His legs automatically ran towards the fading echo of the scream. His legs were screaming in anguish, his lungs were at the verge to burst and Jack could feel his brain slowly melting away with the cold wind.

And that was when it happened. For a second, Jack saw dark blankness then there were stars dancing in his eyes. It felt like as if a horse got him square on the head.

_**Oh, shit…**_

_**What's happenin'?**_

Jack fell into a heap on the ground. He needed to rest. His whole body had taken the brunt of extreme pressure that they blacked out for a second. Jack saw the trees around him spinning around, causing blurred images of green and black. He could feel something coming up from his stomach and trying to escape out of his mouth. Jack gagged at the effort of trying to hold back the vomit. His legs were shaken a little bit as Jack felt blood pumped to his head again, sufficient enough for his brain to keep working. All this happened so fast but Jack recovered.

In the confused matter, Jack felt the case slowly slipped away from his hand. Still confused, Jack grabbed for it, "Gotcha, ya lil' runt, OW!" he felt a painful throb on his head and Jack quickly tried to soothe it with his hand. The headache was like a hangover he always got when he woke up from a night full of heavy drinking.

"Gotta… get back ta En…"

Jack got up but his legs gave away under his weight, "Ain't no way…"

He got up again, with more force; He grabbed hold on to a tree. He leaned for a few seconds and continued his hasty pace once more.

-----------------------------------

The bullet lay in a bloody mess on the tent's floor. Grimm did not stop to catch any breathe but quickly grabbed for the bandage and covered the wound. He tried to stop the wound from bleeding anymore and as he did, he looked at Ennis.

"You okay?"

Grimm watched as Ennis' chest went up and down, breathing rapidly. Ennis felt like as if someone just dragged his soul away but he managed to pull it back.

"Ennis, are you okay?" Grimm asked more insistently.

Ennis did not respond. He was trying to get accustomed to the slow relief washing all over his body without the bullet. Then, remembering the bullet, Ennis realized that someone had shot him in the forest. That guy…it was…

"Jack…" Ennis mumbled out of the corner of his mouth.

"Jack?"

"Jack… Where is he?"

"He'll be back…"

Ennis fell silent again. Grimm cleaned his wound and added some anesthetic from the aid kit. Ennis winced but he kept all the pain to himself and only produced silence. He let Grimm to his work even though he had not known the guy that much. Grimm was busy fussing over the wound when Ennis' thoughts flew to Jack. He swore … that face was the last he saw before he blacked out. And that unforgettable face was also the one who held and pushed the trigger before he felt the bullet landed in his body. Was it…? Did it…? Ennis could not get the thought away from his mind.

"Hey…"

"Yes?" Grimm shifted his attention towards Ennis.

Ennis did not say anything. He felt bad enough because of the wound; he doesn't need his mind telling him his true beloved lover shot him. Did he…really…? The thought troubled Ennis greatly and he glanced back at Grimm.

"Who the hell are yeh?"

"Wow, you're rude to someone who just saved your life."  
Ennis gave cold looks at Grimm who flinched at the attention. He had never really liked being stared at that much.

"I'm Grimm Reaper…"  
"Takin' me away?"

"No… why would I do that when I'm actually aiding you?"

Ennis flopped his head back again on the folded shirts.

"Good thing the bullet didn't hit anywhere that can cause fatal problems…" Grimm said to himself. Ennis did not really care what Grimm is saying, he is just too dizzy.

"I hope Jack gets back fast…" Grimm whispered just for the two of them. The night got colder and only the sounds of forest orchestrated them as if hoping that Jack gets back pronto.

The mention of Jack's name caught Ennis' ears "If he doesn't?" Ennis asked with his eyes closed. A drop of cold sweat ran across Ennis' skin.

Grimm only stared at the suffering cowboy. He had his muscled torso bared without shirt and as Grimm trailed his eyes further down, Grimm observed the mess at Ennis' wound. He did not dare to say anything so he just stared there. For Ennis, even under those overshadowed face because of the hood, he could sense Grimm getting all sad. The tent was dark except for the moonlight glow. Grimm seemed to be accustomed to the darkness that he could pluck out the bullet without problems.

Grimm was in motion again when the bandage used was getting fully soaked in blood.

Grimm threw away the blood-stained bandage and wrapped the wound in new clean ones.

"He won't…" Grimm ended the tight wrap with a tight knot. Ennis flinched slightly and fell silent again. He could feel the warm fabric of the bandage spread from the wound. But it was not warm enough like how Jack always made him feel. Plain honest warmth from a loving touch…

------------------------------------------------------------------

Jack's boots kicked into familiar ground again. The tent is now right in front of him, and he knew the tunnel is almost at its end. Jack gripped hard on the case full of gasoline and walked fast to the tent.

-to be continued-


	6. The Soother

Disclaimer: Not mine. Warning: Subtle romance. Okay, maybe none at all. Enjoy!

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Jack kneeled beside Ennis who was lying helplessly on the tent's floor. Jack lowered his face close to Ennis, he wanted to be as close to Ennis as he could and Ennis appreciated this very much.

In the already cramped place, Grimm soaked an end of a rolled-up rag with gasoline.

He turned around to look at Ennis. The rag still in his hand.

Ennis looked at Grimm. His eyes focused on the gasoline-soaked rag in Grimm's hand.

Jack looked at Ennis. He grasped one of Ennis' hands to comfort the man.

"Jack, do you mind giving Ennis your belt?"

"Why?" growled Ennis. He was turning pale. The wound was still bleeding.

"In case you screamed. Again."

"No one's gonner scream… this time…" Ennis stated in short breathes. His vision is getting blur. He did not know how much blood has he lost and how much his brain is lacking of oxygen.

"If you won't scream, then I will. But one screaming man is enough for tonight" Grimm folded the belt Jack gave him and stuffed it into Ennis' mouth. Ennis grunted in disapproval but Grimm ignored him.

"Jack, I need your help…" Grimm told Jack.

"Sure, What am I ta do?"

"Be beside the man. Distract him."

Ennis heard the word 'distract'. That doesn't sound good. "Haf yeh ever… done this ter… anyone?" Ennis said with a stuffed mouth and looked at Grimm. Jack had a small wet towel on Ennis' forehead to cool him down.

Grimm mulled over the question.

"You're my first patient."

"Ah… Shit…"

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Now, Ennis. Calm down. I'm gonna stuff the soaked end at your wound. I will burn the rag so that when it ends… your skin will be attached quickly and so stops your bleeding." Grimm explained briefly.

"Say what? Burn?" Jack looked up at Grimm in disbelief.

"Well, if you say it on a happier note, it won't sound as bad,"

"Yeh crazy, yeh lil' piece a shit! Ya'll kill him!" Jack bellowed.

"Trust me, please."

Jack glared at Grimm one last time before he looked back at Ennis.

"It's goin' ta be alright… Alright, En…" Jack whispered close to Ennis' ear. Ennis shuddered at his words but he only leaned closer to Jack, to feel and smell Jack.

Jack's hand clutched around Ennis hand and Ennis clutched it back. Their fingers entangled in one. Grimm put the gasoline-soaked end of the rag at Ennis' wound. He lit Jack's lighter on the other free end and let it get engulfed in small red blaze. Ennis looked on in horror at the sight.

Jack's other hand reached for Ennis' cheek, gently forcing him to look directly at Jack's face. "Ennis, En, look at me… don't look there. Look at me… En…" Ennis' tears were about to escape when he looked at the sad blue eyes. He wasn't going to cry, not now, not in front of Jack. Jack does not need to see him suffering now.

The fire had eaten almost a quarter of the rag.

"En… remembered the time when we were sheepherdin'? Yeh liked the nature, En… We always had beans fer dinner…" Jack's words shook a little bit from fear and so is Ennis' whole body. He was trying o focus on Jack. Damn, he was in a total mess now.

"En… yeh were always complainin' about beanfarts ev'ry night… We always looked at the stupid sheep ev'ry day…"

Half of the rag was engulfed in fire. Ennis could feel slight heat but Ennis laughed small from what Jack said.

Jack's mouth curved upwards into a little tired and relieved smile. He joined the short laughter too.

"En… remember Brokeback Mountain? Got us good, En… Got us good… En… the days here were so beautiful…"

The fire was just a few inches from the wound.

Jack was now trying hard to distract Ennis from the upcoming pain he will have in a few seconds.

"And they are still beautiful now, ain't that right, En…?"

Ennis did not answer but he grunted loudly from the hot pain when the gasoline-soaked end of the rag caught fire.

"ARRGH!" Ennis bit hard on the belt stuffed in his mouth. It was lucky that the belt was there. Ennis looked into Jack's eyes who was ever faithful beside him. Jack had his other free hand on Ennis' coarse face, trying to calm him down. Jack leaned closer and tried to hush Ennis. Ennis' hand was digging deep into Jack's palm where Jack accepted it without protest. He let Ennis released all the pain and at the same time trying to soothe him. Their noses were touching each other and even under the shadows, Jack could see the pain in the man's brown eyes.

The fire slowly subsided and there was the horrible smell of burnt flesh and fabric. Grimm removed the burnt rag exposing the wound now closed but covered with what seemed to be white bubbles.

Ennis's silence was awful to Jack's ears. "I think ya killed him…" Jack told Grimm as he checked up on Ennis.

"No… he just fainted… I'm just gonna wrap up this wound."

Jack watched as Grimm did his job. Jack felt nauseated by the acrid smell inside the tent.

Grimm noticed this "Do you want to take some fresh air instead of this smell?"

"Sure… aren't yeh gettin' out?"

"After I wrap this up,"  
"Yeh sure stand the smell."

"I'm Grimm."

Jack crawled out of the tent. There was the same horrible feeling again.

"Oh, here comes…"

Jack rushed to the nearest bush and vomited his guts out. His body was letting it all out after the tiring run, seeing Ennis suffered and the smell. Jack didn't want to admit that he had his limits but now here he is with the vomit.

He wiped his mouth with his sleeve and washed his face at a nearby river.

Jack looked at his reflection inside the lapping water. His face was ageing and tired-stricken. Even he did not recognize himself as the jolly and energetic guy he used to be. Jack splashes at the water angrily.

"Who the fuck are ya!" he yelled at his own reflection. The image broke apart from the ripples then it recovered again. He saw the exact same face looking back at him.

"Huh…" Jack sighed and walked away to the campsite.

When he got back, Grimm was lying beside the fire. He did not bother to clean himself up and just slept there. When Jack passed him, he muttered a silent 'thank you'. Jack opened the flap of the tent and there Ennis was lying on the floor. His wound neatly wrapped in new bandages. He wasn't bleeding as bad as before. In fact, Jack thought the gasoline worked that Ennis must have stopped bleeding. Jack sat cross-legged next to him. He looked at the face of a man whom he had known for more than a decade. He was breathing normally and Jack assumed he was sleeping.

Jack admired his lover's body. The broad shoulder made the perfect comfort at night and going down led to his well-muscled body. Ennis' fine chest then there was his waist. The worn-out jeans were filled with Ennis' perfect legs. He loved Ennis' body on a whole and loved it more when Ennis moved around casually, his legs walking, his hands either busy working or making love or his sweet brown eyes give loving glances at Jack.

Jack leaned down and kissed Ennis' left ear.

"I love ya, cowboy…"

The kiss traveled down to his neck

"Why are yeh so afraid…"

The kiss landed on Ennis' collarbone.

"Nobody's gonna kill us…"

Jack cried silently into the collarbone. Jack's hand was rested across Ennis' chest, feeling the slow movement of Ennis' chest going up and down. Jack was now lying really close at Ennis' sides, not daring to let go.

"Ennis… I loves ya…"

The whole world went into stony silence.

"Loves ya so much…"

Jack cried again, his tears the only white pearl of the night.

The threesome was asleep when late night came and Brokeback Mountain presented its natural orchestra to lull them to an even deeper sleep.

-to be continued-

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It's not the end yet… If there are any mistakes, forgive me cos I had been looking at the monitor for so long my eyes are sore. He,he…


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